Oishi Group

Oishi Group is a Thailand-based food-and-beverage corporate group whose activities span ready-to-drink tea, packaged foods, and Japanese restaurant operations. Its best-known product is Oishi Green Tea, a mass-market bottled tea brand that helped establish and then lead Thailand's modern ready-to-drink green-tea category. The group also markets premium and carbonated tea variants, operates Japanese restaurant concepts across several price points, and sells ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat products under the Oishi Eato name. The business originated in Japanese food service rather than packaged beverages. Tan Passakornnatee opened an all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant on 9 September 1999, targeting Thailand's growing middle class at a time when Japanese cuisine was more commonly associated with expatriates and tourists. The company was registered as Oishi Restaurant Co., Ltd. on 5 January 2000. During its first years it expanded into multiple Japanese restaurant formats, including buffet, ramen, shabu-shabu, donburi, and other concepts intended for different customer segments. The group entered packaged beverages after management observed the popularity of green tea served in its restaurants. Bottled ready-to-drink tea became the company's major growth engine and rapidly made Oishi a leading participant in Thailand's emerging green-tea market. The beverage business brought a sharp increase in profitability in 2004 and supported the company's listing on the Stock Exchange of Thailand as Oishi Group on 3 March of that year. Ownership changed substantially during the second half of the 2000s. Beginning in late 2005, Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi sought control through holding companies. Tan and his partners sold most of their interest for 3.352 billion baht, while Tan initially remained president. The transaction was completed in 2008, when Thai Beverage acquired a 89.93 percent stake in Oishi Group. Tan departed in 2010 and later established the competing Ichitan beverage brand, creating a period of intense rivalry in Thailand's bottled green-tea market. Oishi and Ichitan competed through broad distribution, product promotion, and prize-oriented marketing. Ichitan surpassed Oishi in sales in 2013, while Oishi recovered the leading position the following year. The promotional contest increased expenses and reduced profitability, prompting Oishi to place greater emphasis on brand building and restaurant expansion rather than relying solely on aggressive sales promotions. During the latter half of the 2010s, Thailand's ready-to-drink tea market stagnated and contracted amid changing health perceptions and taxes affecting sugar-sweetened beverages. Oishi responded by diversifying beyond its core tea portfolio, developing ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat foods, and expanding international distribution. Oishi Eato products were introduced in 2018, although they represented only a small portion of revenue in the period described by the reference material. Internationally, Oishi products had a presence in Laos and Cambodia, where the brand was described as a market leader, and later expanded distribution in Malaysia and other ASEAN markets through Singapore-based Fraser and Neave, a company acquired by ThaiBev. The group also had established export or distribution activity in Myanmar, Europe, the United States, and the Middle East, and reported exports to 33 countries as of 2020. Oishi opened restaurants in Myanmar in 2014. Although the company remains an operating business within the ThaiBev group, its securities were withdrawn from the Stock Exchange of Thailand in 2023.

Oishi Group began with Japanese restaurant operations in Thailand. Tan Passakornnatee opened the first all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant on 9 September 1999, responding to the expanding interest in Japanese cuisine among Thai middle-class consumers. The company was formally registered as Oishi Restaurant Co., Ltd. on 5 January 2000. Its early strategy was to make Japanese food more accessible through formats and price points broader than the traditional Japanese restaurant market. Over the following four years, Oishi developed several restaurant concepts. These included buffet operations and specialized Japanese formats, allowing the company to address different dining occasions and customer budgets. A key turning point came when management noticed that green tea served at the restaurants was highly popular. Oishi began bottling the beverage for retail sale, and ready-to-drink tea soon became more commercially important than the original restaurant business. The bottled-tea business benefited from the emergence of a Thai market for convenient non-alcoholic beverages. Oishi Green Tea became the group's central product and rapidly established a leading position. The beverage-led expansion produced a reported 2,000 percent increase in net profit in 2004, the same year Oishi Group listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand on 3 March. Ownership negotiations began in late 2005, when Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi pursued a majority stake through several holding companies. Tan and his partners sold most of their holdings for 3.352 billion baht, with Tan continuing as president for a period. The transaction was finalized in 2008, and Thai Beverage acquired 89.93 percent of Oishi Group. This placed the business within one of Thailand's largest beverage groups and gave it access to a wider distribution and international network. Tan left Oishi in 2010 and founded Ichitan, a competing green-tea brand, in June 2011. The resulting rivalry became one of the defining episodes in Thailand's bottled-tea market. Both companies used high-visibility promotions, including prize campaigns, to stimulate sales. Ichitan moved ahead of Oishi in 2013, but Oishi regained market leadership in 2014. Promotional spending contributed to pressure on Oishi's 2013 profitability, after which the company reduced its dependence on costly short-term campaigns and emphasized brand development and restaurant growth. The ready-to-drink tea market later faced slower growth and contraction. Health concerns surrounding sugary beverages and the introduction of taxes affecting sugar-sweetened drinks altered the competitive environment. Oishi maintained a leading market position but sought to reduce dependence on a single category by developing additional beverage variants, expanding food operations, and seeking overseas markets. International expansion included established activity in Laos and Cambodia, where Oishi was described as a market leader, as well as operations or distribution in Myanmar, Malaysia, other ASEAN markets, Europe, the United States, and the Middle East. In 2013, distribution in Malaysia and other ASEAN countries was supported through Fraser and Neave, a Singapore-based company acquired by ThaiBev. Oishi opened restaurants in Myanmar in 2014 and reported exports to 33 countries by 2020. The group further broadened its food portfolio in 2018 with ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat products under Oishi Eato. These products remained a relatively small revenue contributor in the period covered by the reference material, while restaurants and beverages continued to define the business. Oishi's operating portfolio includes Oishi Green Tea, Oishi Gold, Oishi Chakulza, Oishi Eato, Oishi Buffet, Oishi Eaterium, Shabushi, Oishi Ramen, Kakashi, Nikuya, Oyoki, Oishi Biztoro, Oishi Grand, Hou Yuu, Sakae, and Oishi Delivery. The company's securities were withdrawn from the Stock Exchange of Thailand in 2023.

• 2023

  Securities withdrawn from the Stock Exchange of Thailand

  [1]Oishi Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Oishi Group ceased to be publicly traded on the Stock Exchange of Thailand.

• 2018

  Oishi Eato launches

  [1]Oishi Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The group introduced ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat foods under the Oishi Eato brand.

• 2014

  Myanmar restaurant expansion

  [1]Oishi Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Oishi opened restaurants in Myanmar.

• 2013

  ASEAN distribution expands

  [1]Oishi Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Oishi extended beverage distribution into Malaysia and other ASEAN markets through Fraser and Neave.

• 2010

  Founder departs

  [1]Oishi Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Tan Passakornnatee left Oishi after the change in ownership.

• 2008

  ThaiBev becomes controlling shareholder

  [1]Oishi Groupen.wikipedia.org

  ThaiBev completed the acquisition of an 89.93 percent stake in Oishi Group.

• 2004

  Public listing and beverage-led growth

  [1]Oishi Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Oishi Group listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand on 3 March after strong growth from ready-to-drink green tea.

• 2000

  Oishi Restaurant is registered

  [1]Oishi Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The company was formally registered as Oishi Restaurant Co., Ltd. on 5 January.

• 1999

  First all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant opens

  [1]Oishi Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Tan Passakornnatee opened Oishi's first all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant on 9 September, establishing the business that preceded the corporate group.

Mainstream to premium Japanese-inspired food and beverage, combining mass-market tea products with multi-format restaurant concepts.

• Ready-to-drink tea

  Oishi Green Tea

  Oishi's core bottled-tea line and the product most closely associated with the group's rise. It is offered in multiple flavors and variants and helped establish the company's leading position in Thailand's ready-to-drink green-tea market. The brand is also distributed internationally in selected markets.

• Premium ready-to-drink tea

  Oishi Gold

  A premium-positioned tea range within Oishi's beverage portfolio. It extends the group's presence beyond its main mass-market green-tea line and supports segmentation by taste, packaging, and perceived product value.

• Carbonated tea beverage

  Oishi Chakulza

  A carbonated green-tea beverage line that broadens Oishi's tea offering into a more soft-drink-like format. It is part of the group's effort to maintain relevance across different beverage preferences rather than relying on traditional bottled tea alone.

• Ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat food · 2018

  Oishi Eato

  A packaged-food brand introduced in 2018 covering ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat products. The line represents Oishi's diversification into convenient Japanese-style foods, although the reference material describes it as a relatively small contributor to revenue at that time.

• Japanese restaurant chain

  Shabushi

  An Oishi restaurant concept centered on shabu-shabu and related Japanese dining. It forms part of the group's broad restaurant network and uses a format distinct from Oishi's sushi, ramen, and premium dining concepts.

• All-you-can-eat Japanese restaurant

  Oishi Buffet

  An all-you-can-eat Japanese restaurant format reflecting the group's original business model. The concept helped make Japanese cuisine accessible to a wider Thai customer base and remains one of the restaurant formats associated with Oishi.

• All-you-can-eat Japanese restaurant

  Oishi Eaterium

  An atmospheric all-you-can-eat Japanese dining concept. It extends Oishi's buffet proposition through a more experience-oriented restaurant environment.

• Ramen restaurant

  Oishi Ramen

  A restaurant chain focused on ramen and related Japanese dishes. It represents Oishi's specialized, accessible restaurant formats designed to serve particular categories within Japanese cuisine.

• Donburi restaurant

  Kakashi

  A Japanese-style donburi restaurant concept within the Oishi group. Its menu centers on rice-bowl meals and provides a more focused alternative to the group's buffet and hot-pot formats.

• Yakiniku restaurant

  Nikuya

  A Japanese-style yakiniku concept in Oishi's restaurant portfolio. It adds grilled-meat dining to the group's range of Japanese food formats.

• Premium all-you-can-eat restaurant

  Oishi Grand

  A premium-positioned all-you-can-eat restaurant concept. It sits above the group's more accessible buffet formats and supports Oishi's coverage of higher-value Japanese dining occasions.

• Premium sushi restaurant

  Hou Yuu

  A premium sushi restaurant operated within the Oishi group. The concept complements the group's mass-market restaurant brands with a more upscale Japanese dining proposition.

• Premium shabu-shabu restaurant

  Sakae

  A premium shabu-shabu concept that broadens Oishi's hot-pot offering beyond the Shabushi format and targets a higher-end restaurant segment.

• Food delivery service

  Oishi Delivery

  A home-delivery service supporting the group's restaurant business and extending access to Oishi food outside its physical locations.

• 2014Brand-focused response after competitive promotions

  Thailand

  Following the costly promotional battle with Ichitan, Oishi shifted emphasis toward cultivating its brand image and expanding its restaurant business.

  Outcome. Oishi regained the leading position in Thailand's ready-to-drink green-tea market in 2014.

  Source
• 2013Green-tea prize campaign competition

  Thailand

  Oishi responded to aggressive promotional activity from rival Ichitan with its own prize-oriented campaigns during an intense contest for bottled green-tea market leadership.

  Outcome. Ichitan overtook Oishi in sales during 2013, while the promotional contest increased expenses and contributed to pressure on Oishi's profitability.

  Source

• 2023

  Withdraw securities from the Stock Exchange of ThailandOther

  Background

  Oishi had operated as a listed company since 2004 and was controlled by ThaiBev.

  Action taken

  Oishi Group withdrew its securities from the Stock Exchange of Thailand.

  Aftermath

  The company continued operating within the ThaiBev group but was no longer publicly traded.

  Source

• 2018

  Launch packaged ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat foodsProduct launch

  Background

  The ready-to-drink tea market had become more mature and faced pressure from health concerns and taxes affecting sugar-sweetened beverages.

  Action taken

  Oishi introduced ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat products under the Oishi Eato brand.

  Aftermath

  Packaged foods broadened the group's portfolio, although they represented only a small share of revenue in the period described by the reference material.

  Source

• 2013

  Rebalance away from costly promotional competitionStrategy

  Background

  Oishi faced intense competition from Ichitan, including prize campaigns and other sales promotions. Promotional spending contributed to pressure on Oishi's profitability.

  Action taken

  The company scaled back its reliance on aggressive promotional activity and refocused on brand image and restaurant expansion.

  Aftermath

  Oishi regained the ready-to-drink tea leadership position in 2014 while continuing to diversify its business.

  • Ichitan — Ichitan continued competing aggressively and had overtaken Oishi in sales during 2013.

  Source

• 2008

  Accept ThaiBev majority acquisitionM&A

  Background

  Beginning in late 2005, Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi pursued control of Oishi through several holding companies. Tan and his partners sold most of their stake while Tan remained president for a period.

  Action taken

  The transaction was completed with ThaiBev acquiring an 89.93 percent stake in Oishi Group.

  Aftermath

  Oishi became part of the ThaiBev group and gained access to the parent group's broader beverage and international distribution network.

  Transaction value for the stake sold by Tan and partners. 3.352 billion baht (2008 transaction)

  Source

1. 1Oishi Groupen.wikipedia.org